Paper Mosaics

Continuing on with the theme, I grabbed my square punches and let the girls "punch" from scrap paper.

I like this Fiskars one because it uses a grip instead of a thumb pointer motion.

Here is the other one.

Peek a Boo!

I showed them an example:

Then let them do it completely by themselves.

I loved what they came up with.

 This kept them so busy, I was able to balance the books without interruption!

It was a perfect thing to do with each age group.

Try it! It is so simple, uses scraps, and uses fine motor skills they need for handwriting.

Sticky Sensory Dough

Here is what you need:

4 slices of white bread, crusts cut off

4 TBSP of white liquid glue

4-5 drops of food coloring

Large bowl

Large Spoon

Plates

Start by tearing up the dough into small pieces.

Oh, give the crusts to the one year old...

She will take care of those. :)

Then, add the glue and food coloring.

I made ours speckled by only adding 4 drops all over the bowl.

If you want a solid color, add it to the glue and stir to make a solid color.

Then stir it up!

Separate on plates and let them go to town!

You can double it, triple it, whatever you want.

This was perfect for 2 kids.

I knew my one year old would eat it, so she got to watch and enjoy crusts! :)

This project cleans up fast and you can let it dry over night and harden, or just trash it.

Either way, 30 minutes of fun and done!

Winter Break Activity #4 - Book Making!

Print THIS from Playing with Words 365.

And let the kids go to town. Each kid can cut, glue and put the book together all by themselves. It is a perfect activity for those winter days when you can't go outside!

Another option for older kids is to draw in the pictures. 

The instructions for this book are on page 10.

This is so cute, you won't be disappointed. 

You decide. This is a great activity that takes 30 minutes! :)

Life Cycle of a Pumpkin

Toddler Pumpkin Theme Ideas

Print this Life Cycle Chart

We cut this out then glued it in the right order.  Then we matched up the left over cards to our diagram.

The girls suddenly figured it all out, since we grew pumpkins in our yard this year and they remembered seeing each step.

Apple Cycle Sequencing

Read THE TINY SEED - by Eric Carle

Print this page HERE

Let the kids color them.

Cut them out.

And glue in the correct order.

Then discuss.  Its so fun listening to the reasoning of their order choices. :)

It is a fun quick project...that takes some time cutting and gluing but educational too!

Teaching Shapes to Toddlers - 4

Shape Scapes!

I started by cutting several sizes of the different shapes I was doing and then let them glue a city or an ocean.

Then they went at it, giggling at the shapes they had picked.

Here they are all finished - minus 2 that were too wet to hang.

I added faces and a tag with name, date, title of project.

Cute and colorful! :)

If you wanted to make this more advanced you could trace shapes and have them cut them out themselves.

Teaching Shapes to Toddlers - 1

Tot School Shape Activity #1

Most of these kids know their shapes so why not reinforce it with 2 weeks of focus just to make sure! :)

I had Square, Rectangle, Oval, Circle and Diamond and Triangle.

Here is the first thing we did.

Rectangle Robots!

I cut out several different sizes and types of Rectangles.  Then I glued the body on a paper and let them decide how their robot would look.

It was interesting to watch each kid decide on each individual piece.

 They all really liked this project.

 My favorite thing about art projects is no matter what it is - using the same supplies - everyone comes up with something totally different.

Each kid got to pick an eye or two from the eye box and then I added a smile and a tag of what it was and the date.  They look adorable!

Cherry Blossom Trees

So we talked about how spring is coming and one of my favorite things about spring is the Cherry Blossom Trees in Washington, DC.  I have yet to see them in person but someday my husband will take me. :)

Cut out a trunk and glue it on and then cut several squares out of tissue paper.

Glue several dots on the background of the paper and then let the kids crumble the tissue paper and glue it on.

It is a fun way to release stress! :)

They are so cute too!  Scroll up to see the finished product!